The Seven States of California: A Natural and Human History

Book Description

What explains California? To a large extent, as Philip Fradkin's rich, exuberant portrait makes clear, it's the multiple landscapes and the different states of mind that best define America's most populous, diverse, and fabled state. Fradkin divides California into seven distinct ecological and cultural provinces--from the hot deserts and high peaks to the rich agricultural Central Valley, the redwood forests of the north and sandy beaches of the south. Describing geographical regions based on their emblematic landscape features, Fradkin intertwines natural and social history.

Customer Reviews:

Why the Golden State is golden, despite its flaws.......2006-01-21

I picked this book up as natural history, and have indeed learned much about it, getting beyond a simple coast/valley/mountains/desert mindset into the different mountain regions, their formation and more.

Of course, it's arguable that the way Fradkin breaks up the coast ranges into separate sections is more social history than natural history. But that's fine.

Speaking of that, his phrase names for each section also reflect social history as much as natural history. And are insightful in both ways.

Fradkin paints a good social history, not just of California as a whole but each of its regions individually, such as loggers in the northern coast, corporate farmers in the Central Valley, the paradoxes of Los Angeles, and so forth.

I would recommend this book to native or semi-native Californios as a fresh look at their state, as well as to outsiders.

A People's History of California...........2000-10-04

A great book and a good read. Patrica Nelson Limerick's Legacy of Conquest meets John McPhee's Assembling California. Part human geography, part revisionist history, part travel narrative, Fradkin looks at events big and small from a perspective other than the railroad, mining, and timber barons, and the civic boosters of the Golden State. One focus is on the untold stories of the Native Americans, Chinese, Japanese, Irish and the others marginalized in previous histories. Another focus is the realm of the natural world (Grizzly bear, salmon, the Cascade volcanos e.g.)and how it influenced the past and how it is reflected into the present, sometimes ironically. Fredkin weaves these together with his personal experience and research and produces a very readable, entertaining and often disconcerting whole. I have spent much time in the past reseaching California's history for professional and academic purposes and this book taught me much. Highly recommended.

Great social/environmental history.......2000-08-09

Although the books is billed as presenting an ecological history of California, it appears that this is mainly to help sell it. Where Fradkin excels is in uncovering little-known social history, particularly around racial strife. There's a lot of us-vs-them in this state's history that's rarely talked about. The great thing is, the author presents a coherent, readable history, rather than a tiresome sermon from a soapbox. Worth a read.

No glory but much death........2000-01-24

This was not the book that I expected to read, and I don't mean this in a good way.

To a large degree, Fradkin's goal is to pierce the illusion of the biggest marketing scam in North American history, that of Golden California. .... Comments such as "modern California was founded on greed and violence" only lead me to respond what empire wasn't? ...

What saves the book is that Fradkin does love the state regardless of what has happened in the past, and he does know his history. ....

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The Seven States of California: A Human and Natural History (ISBN:0805019472)
Philip L. Fradkin
Manufacturer: Henry Holt Publ.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NQKE8Y

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Mosses,: A new approach to the identification of common species
Emmett Theodore Bodenberg
Manufacturer: Burgess Pub. Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Plants | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0007ECOUS

Book Description

Packed with stunning photographs, easy-to-use maps, and all the information you really need to get the most from your visit! In this compact guide, our writers help you plan itineraries for short and longer stays. Complete with must-see sights on and off the beaten track as well as current hotel and restaurant recommendations. And the convenient size of the guide allows you to take it along in your pocket or handbag. Take the world in your pocket next time and travel with this handy Berlitz guide.

Berlitz Japan Pocket Guide (Berlitz Pocket Guides)

Average customer rating:

Quick guide? Well, way TOO quick.
YEEEESSS!!! An ESSENTIAL guide to touring Japan.
Perfect Quick Guide
Perfect Quick Guide

Berlitz Japan Pocket Guide (Berlitz Pocket Guides)

Manufacturer: Berlitz Guides
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Asia | Travel | Subjects | Books

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Berlitz Japanese Phrase Book (Berlitz Phrase Book)

ASIN: 2831572193

Book Description

Customer Reviews:

Quick guide? Well, way TOO quick........2003-09-03

This guide is too small to do justice to the destination. There is only so much squeezing you can do before things start getting so superficial that they are rendered (almost) useless.

What might work for Budapest or Norway is not necessarily good for Japan: the country is so distant, so bizarre, so DIFFERENT that a guide has to explore more than merely an unusual twist put on familiar things. You need space for that, and Berlitz hasn't got plenty of space with this pocket edition, which is not so cheap, thank you very much.

One may wonder: if you are going so far, spending so long on a plane, spending so much money on your ticket - why would you try to save a few dollars on a guide? Or is it that you are SO concerned about the weight of your luggage? Well that suitcase WILL feel much heavier when you don't have a good map to guide you - and this book ain't got one.

You will find that, because of the size of the book, everything is scaled down to the skeleton coverage - and it's the small helpful bits in other, larger, books that make your life easier. In this book, they sure try to have colorful pictures here and there (and a few are nice), but there is just not enough text. Not enough background reading. Not enough cultural information. Not enough practicalities. At the end, you realize - why bother buying anything at all? You'll get as much info from an in-flight magazine, which by the way may have some helpful maps.

No offence to writers of the book, they tried their best and they have done beautifully in the severely constrained space that they had available to them. I can understand them, but this is not enough to justify the purchase of this book. Try Rough Guide instead - I'm not their best supporter and fan, but they've done a brilliant job on Japan. This is more than can be said about Berlitz publishers on this occasion.

YEEEESSS!!! An ESSENTIAL guide to touring Japan........2001-07-18

The purely essential guide to Japan - Dennis Kessler does the fantastic job of illustrating the best way to be a tourist in Japan. Both the writing and the photography is superb, and hard to believe that it's just one man that performed both.

I found it easy to read, with very understandable descriptions, and I was truly impressed by the beauty and quality of the photographs. This book is easily equal to the Rough Guide, if not more concise, being a pocket guide.

Perfect Quick Guide.......2001-07-17

This is probably the best guide around for the short-term (less than 2 weeks) traveller to Japan. The photos are excellent and the text is concise, informative and easy to read. It's full of helpful hints and is obviously written by a well-travelled writer who really knows his subject.

Anyone going to Japan would be advised to take this little book. - amazing how much information is at your fingertips!

Perfect Quick Guide.......2001-07-17

Book Description

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Tokyo Berlitz Pocket Guide

Manufacturer: Berlitz Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Asia | Travel | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 981246316X

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Japan Berlitz French Pocket Guide

Manufacturer: Berlitz Publishing Company Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

General | Asia | Travel | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 9812461744

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Japan Berlitz Pocket Guide
*
Manufacturer: BERLITZ
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000K2SP7I

Amazon.com

Meet Sophie. She sees herself as the too-tall "Mount Everest of teenage girls," who, along with her friends, often suffers from "lackonookie disease." She's dating smoky, sexy Dylan, covertly chatting online with "cybersoul"-mate Chaz, and secretly nursing a crush on sweet, geeky Murphy. Her two best friends are closer to her than sisters, and she "hates hating" her soap opera-addicted mom, wishing "she would show half as much interest in my life as she does in Luke and Laura's." In other words, Sophie is a typical teenage girl. What is not so typical is how author Sonia Sones records all of Sophie's thoughts in a freewheeling verse that is such a naked outpouring of inner longing, most readers will blush in embarrassed recognition of their own remembered or current teenage desires. Sones gently leads both the reader and Sophie towards an understanding of the difference between love and lust as Sophie slowly comes to realize that Dylan's outsides are no match for Murphy's insides. Autobiographical of Sones, perhaps? The author claims it isn't so, and she's probably right. With her frank manner, lusty thoughts, and hidden insecurities, Sophie reflects many teenage girls, past and present. No woman will be able to read this heartfelt verse novel and not find a bit of herself in Sophie's secret, sexy thoughts. Sones's decadent, almost shamefully delicious collection of angst poems is a loving and amazingly accurate tribute to adolescent girlhood. (Ages 12 and older) --Jennifer Hubert

Book Description

My name is Sophie.
This book is about me.
It tells
the heart-stoppingly riveting story
of my first love.
And also of my second.
And, okay, my third love too.

It's not that I'm boy crazy.
It's just that even though
I'm almost fifteen
it's like
my mind
and my body
and my heart
just don't seem to be able to agree
on anything.

Customer Reviews:

good...exagerated in other bad reviews.......2007-10-18

ok this isnt a poem kinda book like the author says.its a book about a girl.its a good book.some poeple in the 1 star section say its too sexual for teenage girls.im a 19 yr old male and i got half way threw the book and found that review and found my self waiting for the "horrible sexual situations" it never happend this book has little sexual content.it was a good book and i didnt read it for the "sexual content"i found it at the library and wanted to get it so i bought it.it was good,not poems just a story.

Charming book. Misleading title.......2007-09-22

Sophie's pig of a mother doesn't know anything because she numbs out watching tv and eating chocolate all the time. Sophie could probably say "I gave my boyfriend oral sex last night" and her mother would just grunt.

But there isn't really much to hide. Sophie is a "nice Jewish girl." She's adorable. She thinks about sex. Duh!

The book is written in free verse. Some reviewers have complained that it isn't great poetry. No, it is a teen girl writing her thoughts in poetry. It isn't supposed to be great poetry.

Sophie's mother really angered me. She went into a huge ugly guilt trip because Sophie secretly wore a slinky black dress to a halloween party instead of the stupid dress her mother wanted her to wear. Believe me, any parent whose teenager didn't do anything worse than that should get down on her knees and thank the universe.

Perfect for Mothers and Daughters.......2007-07-26

I read this book for two reasons. First, the author bragged at a conference it had been banned from several schools/libraries. She was so proud of it. Second, as a mother I wanted to know what the teen's mother didn't know. I must admit I couldn't put the book down. It is easy to read. I felt like the book reflected what many teens go through and the importance of parental involvement. When bad things happen, like the perve boys she encounters, she deals with it well. I think it is a great book for teens and parents to use to discuss issues many young girls encounter and feelings they have.

What Mother Doesn't know.......2007-05-30

When I first read this book I thought it was ok I guess but, it was a kind of sick book and had bad words in it. The main character is Sophie. The settings are at her house, outside, and school. The plot is that she dates a bunch of guys and in the end she finds the perfect man.

good book =].......2007-05-29

I really do recommend this book. I thought it was a great book. It really teaches girls that it really isn't looks in a guy that you should always go for. I would recommend it because it really is a good girl book and has a lot of lessons to learn in it. It also makes you want to keep reading on because it always keeps you wondering what is going to happen next. The book also teaches you how much you can have fun and how much you can have in common with a person you never would of expected. This book has a great ending you wouldn't exspect!

Average customer rating:

Like reading a friend's diary

What My Mother Doesn't Know

Manufacturer: Scholastic
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0439455480

Customer Reviews:

Like reading a friend's diary.......2007-02-24

This book was like reading my friend's diary. All she does is talk about her troubles with love life. First she says she's in dying love with one guy and thinks "this must be what love is." But then she meets some other guy and gets to know him and starts talking about him all the time. Then she breaks up with the guy she was first in love with and goes out with another guy and says, "this really is what love is like," and it just goes on and on and on about each guy she meets. It's not only confusing in some ways but it's annoying.

The book makes her sound desperate for love because her friends both have boyfriends. The book makes it sound like she falls in love with every guy she meets even if she doesn't know them. Another thing that annoyed me was that the ending was completely predictable. So in conclusion i would not recommend this book.

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What My Mother Doesn't Know

Manufacturer: ORION PAPERBACKS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Customer Reviews:

Very useful book.......2000-01-04

This is a very good book presenting the traditional view of bioethics, ie., that it is the sort of thing for which rational ethical inquiry can produce solid results. Great introduction to the field.

BEGINNING BIOETHICS A TEXT WITH INTEGRATED READINGS

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BEGINNING BIOETHICS A TEXT WITH INTEGRATED READINGS
Aaron Ridley
Manufacturer: Bedford/St. Martin's
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OTLN6M

Book Description

Covers current developments in sedimentation and thermal field flow fractionation for particle size analysis, and characterization of polymer molecular-weight distribution. Presents fundamental studies on critical conditions in liquid chromatography, single-parameter approach to universal SEC calibration, and compositional characterization of polyolefin copolymers as a function of molecular weight and bunching. Provides a strategy for interpreting multidetector size exclusion chromatography (SEC) data. Reviews SEC for cationic, anionic, and nonionic copolymers of vinylpyrrolidone. Presents applications of SEC for the characterization of natural polymer products, cotton, and polysaccharides.

Book Description

"Presents new approaches to qualitative analysis of continuous, discreteptime, and impulsive nonlinear systems via Liapunov matrix-valued functions that introduce more effective tests for solving problems of estimating the domains of asymptotic stability."

Book Description

Beowulf, the major surviving poem in Old English, is composed in a language that is rich but often difficult. This fully annotated edition makes the poem more accessible in its original language, while at the same time providing the materials necessary for its detailed study at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. To facilitate understanding and fluent reading of the poem, the Old English text of Beowulf is here accompanied by an extensive running glossary which includes the greater part of the vocabulary of the poem. Words that occur more than once are glossed on each occasion. The inclusion of marginal glosses will enable readers who may be at an early stage in the study of Old English to cope more easily with the complex vocabulary of the poem. But this edition is not meant only for those who are approaching Old English for the first time; it is designed to be suitable for students at any stage, and those who are already familiar with Old English will find the marginal glosses of value in enabling Beowulf to be read more fluently. George Jack's introduction considers the origins and transmission of the poem, and provides a survey of its constituent materials. A full commentary on textual and interpretative problems, points of grammar and meaning, and matters of literary and historical context is provided, as is a guide to further reading on Beowulf. The text of the Finnsburh Fragment has also been included, because of its special relevance to Beowulf, and it is likewise accompanied by marginal glosses and notes.

Customer Reviews:

Rafael Juan Pascual Hernández on George Jack's edition of the 3182 lines of alliterative verse often printed as Beowulf.......2007-04-17

If you are a student of OE who does not know how to begin with OE literature, I strongly recommend this edition to you. The introduction provides the reader with some notes about the manuscript, the style of the poem and some other interesting information together with a bibliography for further reading.
The whole poem is edited here in the original (Old English), with no direct translation into PDE. But many marginal notes satisfactorily help us with the understanding of the lines.
The shorter poem The Fight at Finnsburh is contained in this volume as well.
Finally, a glossary of vocabulary is presented.

Best for Students.......2007-01-24

I would recommend this book to beginners of OE study. Glossaries on the right side of text decrease the difficulty of OE texts and make them more accessible. My professor recommended this book to me and I see that this one is really a good choice for any student.

best student edition.......1999-05-06

Jack's Beowulf is currently the best student edition (undergrad & non-specialist grad) available. The student's progress through the text is fluent and full, and is made so by the accurate and usable glosses that are conveniently placed on the right margin of each text page. The book is light on supporting commentary and ancillary helps, but its up-to-date bibliography makes any such inclusions redundant. The serious student of this important poem will need to advance, however, to Klaeber's still authoritative edition. This is so because the guiding hand of the glossary in Jack's edition will subtly and inevitably direct the student towards the editor's own overall reading of the poem and away from his own. Ideally, one should read Beowulf free of glossary and with only a minimum of attention to commentary. The reader's best friend here will be the unmatched Bosworth-Toller Anglo-Saxon Lexicon. The thrifty student may substitute J.R. Clark Hall's Concise Anglo-Saxon Dictionary. Also, try to keep the full OED handy.

Average customer rating:

Beowulf: A Student's Edition

Manufacturer: Whitston Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Anthologies | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0878754555

Book Description

An accurate and readable translation of Beowulf which includes an up-to-date introduction to the poem, a list of characters, and a selected bibliography.

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BEOWULF: A STUDENT EDITION.
George (editor). Jack
Manufacturer: Oxford Univ. Press,
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000N8QTV8

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